6 Military Spec Flashlights You Can Buy For Yourself

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When people shop for military flashlights, they're usually looking for a flashlight that covers several key features. Those aspects include being tough to break, having built in protection from water and dirt, projecting high luminosity, and being mountable. Even in non-military applications, these features can be useful. For example, a hiker may want a flashlight that is water and dust resistant because they're outside and they may want the flashlight to attach to their backpack straps so they can see in front of them without needing their hands. Since military flashlights allow for such usability, a hiker could find a military flashlight useful. 

Unfortunately, the term military flashlight has brought out the worst in some manufacturers. Many companies will label their regular, everyday flashlights as military-grade in order to coax customers into buying something at a premium when they could've just bought a regular flashlight for much less money. As a result, looking at military flashlights can be a frustrating and tiring endeavor as many of them are just regular flashlights with cool designs. You can still buy some good flashlights from companies that market their stuff as military-grade but it's not a sure thing. 

However, there are real military-spec flashlights out there that work quite well from the same companies that actually make flashlights for the military. The flashlights below all have that in common. 

The Sidewinder Boot is a military-grade flashlight that is smaller than it looks with a length measurement of 4.29 inches and fairly light at 2.88 ounces when powered by lithium batteries. That means it fits in a pocket without issue and won't weigh you down if you attach it to a piece of headgear or your backpack straps. It also comes with an articulating head for hands-free use along with a red filter that you can slide over the main light to generate red light instead of white. The body is IPX7 waterproof, which means you can drop it into one meter of water for up to 30 minutes.

In terms of brightness, it's on the lower end of the spectrum of flashlights. This is mostly because it takes two AA batteries instead of having a rechargeable battery like many others. It produces 55 lumens on high mode for eight hours before it runs out of juice and has an effective range of 63 meters. In low mode, it produces seven lumens, but it can also run for 90 hours in that mode. It won't work as a search light, but it should work well enough for hiking or camping purposes. 

The flashlight and its various parts all have NSN numbers, which means this is actually available for sale to militaries. 

The Sidewinder LED Hands Free Light is the upgraded version of the aforementioned Sidewinder. This one has many of the same basic qualities, including the IPX7 water resistance, the articulating head, and the smaller size. In fact, the body is exactly the same as the Sidewinder Boot in terms of overall weight and dimensions. The white C4 LED outputs the same number of lumens as the Sidewinder Boot but lasts longer per set of AA batteries at five hours in high mode and over 100 hours in low mode. 

The major differentiation between this model and the boot is its inclusion of other lights. If you get the military model, it comes with a white light along with dedicated red, IR-IFF, and blue LED lights. There is also an aviation model that has white, green, IR-IFF, and blue LEDs along with a Rescue model that has the same light setup as the aviation model. This makes it ideal for folks looking for a flashlight that can shine in those varying colors. Like the other Sidewinder, all the various parts of this flashlight have NSN numbers, meaning it was made specifically for military use. 

SureFire also makes popular flashlights for rifles and the M64ODFT-Pro Turbo is among the best. It comes with a single LED light that outputs 700 lumens over 632 meters for about 2.75 hours per battery charge. SureFire offers two different batteries. The included SF18650B rechargeable battery gives you the maximum luminosity, distance, and time, so we recommend going with the more powerful battery if you can manage it. SureFire sells replacements, and they can be recharged over USB. The light can also be powered by off-the-shelf 123 lithium batteries, but performance is reduced significantly. 

In terms of compatibility, the flashlight comes with mounting hardware for MIL-STD-1913 and M-LOK rails, so it should fit on most rifles. Its hard-anodized aluminum body can take a beating, and it also comes with IPX7 water resistance, so it can be submerged in water for a short period of time. You can swap out the batteries by unscrewing the back end of the flashlight, so you can replace the batteries and keep going with minimal downtime, although it's not quite as quick as the hot swappable batteries on the XR2 above. 

The SureFire EDCL1-DFT is probably more at home in search and rescue or police operations than military, but it has all the specs to do military work too. The light is capable of up to 650 lumens over a range of 616 meters for about 45 minutes. If you reduce that to the lowest setting, it does 25 lumens for up to 11 hours. This is one of the smallest flashlights that SureFire makes and at 4.8 inches and 4.5 ounces, you can attach or stash this thing just about anywhere. 

Much like the SureFire M64ODFT-Pro Turbo, there are multiple battery options for this flashlight. You can use the SureFire-provided SF18350 battery to get the maximum performance or off-the-shelf 123 lithium batteries, which reduces the peak brightness to 500 lumens. We recommend the SureFire battery if you can swing it since it's rechargeable and more powerful. Otherwise, it falls in line with similarly sized LED flashlights, including the IPX7 water resistance rating and the hard-anodized aluminum body that should be able to take some abuse before it breaks. The body also includes a lockout function that prevents the light from being accidentally turned on.

The HDS Systems Custom is one of the most unique flashlights on the list. It's a small flashlight that is designed to fit just about anywhere and it's sold by a company that also sells equipment to the military. What makes the Custom neat is that you can configure it before you buy it. The company offers several options, including a single clicky-style button, a rotary control, or both. Its base configuration can output 250 lumens, but you can configure it for as much as 325 lumens or as little as 170. It can also be equipped with a black light, a forensic blue light, or an IR light. 

The body is made from aerospace-grade aluminum and comes in either black or silver with a stainless-steel bezel. You can also choose the flashlight lens, whether the button is flush or raised, and what kind of mounting gear it comes with. You can even choose whether the type of battery it supports, be it a CR123, two AA batteries, or an 18650 battery. In short, you can make this thing how you want. It doesn't get as bright as most other flashlights on the list, but its 325 lumen maximum is still good for most applications. 

Last on our list is a budget flashlight from Fenix. The E20 V2 is a simple pen-style flashlight that attaches with a clip. It weighs virtually nothing and is five inches long. The body is made from aluminum with a hard-anodized finish. You also get IP68 water and dust resistance, which should handle just about any conditions you throw at it. It takes two AA batteries, which makes swapping them out quick, although it doesn't have the reusability of a rechargeable flashlight. 

With alkaline batteries installed, the flashlight can output a maximum of 350 lumens for three hours and 45 minutes at a distance of 413 feet. There is a battery-saving eco mode that outputs five lumens at a range of 49 feet for 200 hours. Fenix does note that while the batteries will last for three hours on high-power mode, mechanisms within the flashlight will reduce the brightness and ultimately turn off the flashlight after 30 minutes to prevent overheating. Users can turn the flashlight on and off with a button on the back and choose the mode with the tail switch button.